My team did the work. Why do I get the praise?
You tell yourself you didn't ask for the credit. That's true. But when the praise came, you let it stand. You said nothing. Silence took the credit as surely as a claim would have. This is not a character flaw to confess. It is an action you haven't taken yet — redirecting what isn't yours to keep. Other hands did the work. The words naming whose hands they were have not yet left your mouth. The next time someone praises 'your' team's success, you will have a choice in that exact second: speak the names, or let the silence continue one more time. No one can make that choice for you.
You did not steal the credit — but you let it sit on you instead of moving it where it belongs. That silence is an action, not an accident. The fix is not a feeling of guilt. It is one sentence, spoken at the next moment of praise, naming who actually did the work.
What changes unlock by starting
- You stop absorbing credit that belongs to others.
- Your team hears you name their work in real time, not after the fact.
- The quiet guilt you carry is replaced by a plain habit of accurate speech.
- People trust you more, because what you say matches who did what.